Valve gets between crappy publishers and gamers

[@NerdNest]

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[@5226-p1e]

10:22 you just explained starfield right here, they used the advanced access nonsense but the game was and still is early access, but it was sold as a final product only to delay content that was supposed to be in the base game "shattered space" and sell it off as DLC content. to me personally, that is s scam practice in the works right there. i'm sick of these AAA game company's pulling this shit, they get away with selling a game at full price when it's clearly not a finished product, only to make money on that not finished product as it if were finished, so they get the full price nonsense and then a year later drop the DLC or the content that was supposed to be in the base game to begin with only to sell it for more money to the player base. i hate these scumbag companies pulling this crap. this is why i never purchase games at launch anymore, it's been the trend for how many years that they have been allowed to get away with this nonsense?

[@ericoliver1603]

I hope Valve never goes public, last thing we need is stupid ass finance bros ruining one of the best storefronts on pc

[@5226-p1e]

i agree, however the only thing i want Valve to beholden to is the gamers, ya know the customers who purchase these games on their platform.

[@krellin]

thats where your 30% cut goes

[@NerdNest]

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

[@RamblyBear]

​@NerdNest who's 30% cut? Easy to champion a cut coming from someone else's business. I as the consumer don't pay a cut.

[@RamblyBear]

​@@NerdNestwho's 30% cut? Easy to champion a cut coming from someone else's business. I as the consumer don't pay a cut.

[@krellin]

@@RamblyBear you pay it, whether you realize it or not... when suppliers bump up prices does your supermarket keep it at the same price or do they rise it appropriately? Steams cost if not completely but partially gets offloaded to us, gamers because we are the ones eventually agreeing to a price. I still think 30% is a bit rich for what they do, but at least they do something...

[@elmergloo3259]

@@krellin30% is fair. Take into consideration that for as long as they’ve been around if you bought a game, you can still download it. They have to maintain servers for what is essentially a bunch of one-time purchases. Most companies charge a monthly fee if they’re constantly maintaining something so you can at any time 5 years in the future, re-download that random $5 game you purchased years prior. Steam relies on new purchases to keep running. If they’re not charging a monthly fee, then 30% is generous considering they have to provide servers for downloads for eternity even if stopped making money on those old obscure downloads. This is far more than any other company is willing to for customers. This happens a lot in the smartphone app space and IOT devices. For example, I bought the original Angry Birds on iPhone for $2.99 in like 2012. There were no ads or time limitations on the game. Years later they changed the game completely to be free, but now there are ads and in app purchases for “energy” to play. It sucks. On the developer side they made $2.99 on me in 2012, but in 2017 they have to still make updates to make their game to make it compatible with every new iOS update that releases. They didn’t want to do that work for free anymore so they changed the game to make them money continuously. Companies that make IOT devices are also guilty of this. I bought a Lifx tile pack for like $200 6 years ago. It’s basically an app controlled RGB light panel. Last year they stopped supporting the model I have on the app. So now my $200 product is a brick, not because it is old and worn out, but because the manufacturer doesn’t want to support it anymore. While I understand it’s a constant app development effort to maintain a product I purchased years ago, but had I known it would be a brick in 5 years, I wouldn’t have bought it for so much. Companies screw us left and right all the time. Steam is one of the few that doesn’t. 30% fee is more than fair for what they providing the community on a long term basis.

[@chloe-sunshine7]

I hope Valve never changes. I’ve always felt like they’re the only ones looking out for me.

[@t.c.b4722]

As long as Gabe is around I think we're safe, but as the company grows it's almost inevitable that the bean counters will eventually take over and ruin the platform.

[@skycloud4802]

​@@t.c.b4722 Yes I think he is key.

[@j3y445]

@@t.c.b4722 I don't think Gabe is the only stronghold at Valve. The real reason why Valve continues to be awesome is that they are private and thus do not have shareholders to appease.

[@5226-p1e]

so Gabe just needs to write an AI based on him, or download a copy of his brain into a synth body lol to run the company when he's long gone.

[@skycloud4802]

@@j3y445 isn't Valve a relatively small team as far as large corporations and employees go? If true, it might explain why Valve feels very personified and non-corporate; unusually pro consumer.

[@glovedcop69]

Man valve is the way to go if going all digital. I love my account

[@AdmiralBison]

Uhh no. I'm sticking with GOG as they go further than Valve by going all DRM-Free digital. In other words consumers own their games not the corporate publishers. ** Valve can do a lot better as they have the muscle in PC space to "please talk to the hand" of even the biggest corporate publishers.

[@biorum]

Steam might be the only gaming digital store that gives refund and side with the players on a broken game.

[@RamblyBear]

@@biorum people forget that Valve spent millions to try and not give refunds and were forced to by court order. Like Valve do a lot of good things, but they're also not always the good guys. They're also the main culprit responsible for popularising modern loot boxes, battle passes, and microtransactions. I think EA would have got there anyway, but Valve paved the way.

[@NerdNest]

I agree with Rambly here.

[@5226-p1e]

@@RamblyBear i thought that started with bethesda and their horse armor nonsense?

[@XGD5layer]

​@@5226-p1e keyword: popularizing

[@OtsoCafe]

They were forced to do this in Europe. Did people forget this?

[@X862go]

I just wish value had better offline support like GOG. I'm not saying for everything, but we should be able to have an offline installation EXE for older games.

[@Pavel-Geleznov]

because older games are discontinued or "region locked", you can't buy them GOG have "preservation program" for older games

[@heshermunson]

The solution to early/advanced access is the same we've been telling everyone about preorders for the last couple decades. Don't buy it. Whenever people stopped buying slop, companies started taking action. They can't take advantage of you if you don't let them.

[@5226-p1e]

i have been doing this for about a decade now, but i feel we aren't going far enough, when it comes to ownership of our games, it should be purchased and we own it, but everyone just accepts the fine print when they have no idea how much power we have on this idea, all it takes for this to change is gamers uniting on the idea of ownership of games, and demanding this or we won't purchase anymore games on a given store. now GOG right now is competing in this market right now and they may just take that business away when the time comes, but until then, steam has to abide by what the customers want if they want to keep them as customers.

[@grayfox_yt]

It good to see Steam doing what they have always done. Be an example and a leader in the industry.

[@Elgsdyr]

"Disposable income"... What a lovely phrase. 😀

[@Burgerhs]

Valve should have a mobile game section too so they can make their own cut instead of playstore and the deck be a more complete device

[@Slateproc]

didn't EGS already try that and get kicked off iOS and Android for some bullshit reason?

[@rustybroomhandle]

Before Valve had Early Access, the store Desura (RIP) implemented it first, inspired by the success of Minecraft, with Project Zomboid being one of the first games on there to use it. They called it "alpha funding". I prefer this term because it's more clear you are doing this to help developers fund development, rather than "early access" which sounds more like you are the primary one benefiting.

Good luck for people who used to buy games day one. I just rent games after two years and on sale above 50%.

[@jayk806]

I have the Ugreen battery bank and it’s saved my bacon many times. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.

[@ScuffyTheDog]

What I see is just new, specific names for commercial inappropriate conducts which can't be eliminated. WE are the ones that can stop this madness NOT BUYING broken/overpriced/overhyped shitty stuff.

[@knightzix_01]

omg i am loving valve even more now they arent as greedy as others on this Which i am very happy about

[@AdmiralBison]

Push for and support *DRM-free digital* It allows consumers ownership and control over what they buy instead of corporate publishers.

[@SrslyTony]

This is a nice update!... I wonder which game specifically prompted Valve to do all this, lol. ( I think Star Wars Outlaws is a smaller game than whatever specific season pass debacle Valve could be thinking of)

[@brave7356]

Probably Helldivers 2 and all the Sony BS! LOL

[@MichaelSaamone]

This is how retro gaming got popular .

[@kgg8188]

I know its not a steam game but somehow I feel like starcitizen is the most guilty of some of the things mentioned here. Its good that valve is seeking to protect its customers though.

[@5226-p1e]

yeah and that's why i will never be their customer, that game has been worked on for more than a decade and it's still not finished and they waste a lot of time selling things and working on things the game doesn't need, so in my opinion they simply aren't worth supporting, and then there is a lot of other scummy things that company does that i will never be onboard with. that game will never come out fully, it will always be a WIP no matter what they say, it will always be a WIP. so to me, there is no reason to support that.

[@AbdullahTech]

I had to like this video, because there was information in it I never knew and will need to come back to at some point. Thank you for this 🎉

[@themayoenby]

this does scare me in some ways, i can imagine a worst case scenario where the big publishers barrage valve with anti-trust lawsuits even though they are by far the most fair competitor in the game launcher scene

[@pingpong6004]

That sponsor segment was so clean xD

[@Slateproc]

technically half-life episode 3 would fall under these new rules, which is kind of funny

[@NerdNest]

Technically correct is the best kind of correct.

[@brazilanubis3]

I have that uGreen Power Bank. Awesome stuff Bill :) thanks for your content!

[@jasontrauer]

We need to "Mr. House" Gabe.

[@AdmiralBison]

Valve can do Far better than this just by simply mandating a *DRM-free digital option* to be sold alongside the usual crap. Corporate publishers don't like it, they can just piss off as Steam is the biggest store front on PC.

[@brave7356]

What's to stop the Publishers from making DLC exclusive to their own shop or not available on Steam because of this??? Valve is standing 10 toes down in a dangerous game! I like it tho.✊

[@LostWallet]

imo, if you didn’t release your game on Steam, you got something to hide

[@joeghione1386]

Let the folks who want to pay extra get the game early. It doesn’t hurt those who don’t. Waiting a few days for a video game is nit like landing on the beaches of Normandy on D Day. Everyone chill and get a little perspective on what you think is, and I quote, “bullsh*t”.

[@635574]

Steam uses the original meaning of early access.

[@DigitalMase]

I wonder if this is all because of Redfall? Are there other products who failed to deliver their season pass?

[@adolfbilic8622]

Damn that white Steam Deck looks sexy .

[@demonhighwayman9403]

Hey Bill do you think valve will do this refund thing for people who bought the highest tier (€100) of Forza Horizon 5 ? A lot of us bought it expecting to get all further DLC but apparently they were careful with the wording they used and owe us nothing.

[@NerdNest]

I'm not sure, this change is after FH5 came out, I don't know if they can retroactively enforce things like this.

[@demonhighwayman9403]

@@NerdNest Oh well at the least it will offer a bit of protection going forward.

[@Tomi97_videos]

@@demonhighwayman9403 You should still try asking the support. They did refund stuff like that on individual cases, but now they are making official policy for everyone. So if you ask they might be able to do something for you.

[@demonhighwayman9403]

@@Tomi97_videos I've had it for well over a year now and spent many hours playing, I'm pretty sure the answer would be an immediate no. If I had known their scam earlier though I'd have tried for a refund.

[@KuraMad2000]

Wonder how tim swindle will try to spin this as being bad somehow

[@NerdNest]

I don't often agree with him, I don't really like his business practices, but we don't need to call him names.

[@xeviousbread1280]

What did bro mean by "Green."

[@CharlesTersteeg]

Larian set the bar. They make other companies look like chumps they are.

[@BAMSE64]

i stopped buying from steam and now only buy from gog, i like owning what i buy

[@jrknsOFF]

They operate on the same license basis. If you wanna parry it by saying that you can store every installer and such offline, you can do essentially the same with Steam, launching the games directly as opposed to doing that through the app. Valve, however, tells you this outright, while GOG is trying to pretend it's different in that regard; essentially falsely advertising terms and conditions that do not exist (you owning the purchase for good, as in nobody can take it away from you or lock you out).

[@BAMSE64]

@@jrknsOFF wait i can launch my steam games withouth the intenet?

[@boofex1]

I love Steam

[@MrSongib]

Advance Access is protecting the consumer, I think it's good move by Valve, and this system is protecting bullshit like this 10:20 to be shown early to know it is either good or bad. 10:20 This practice is to "Scam" the consumer too give their game more value than actually is. And if you want example of good "DLC" is like what Fromsoft does with Eldenring, their DLC value is there. Don't get baited by bullshit exclusive content that make the overall game value being worst like what ubisoft did. and what Valve doing is protecting their consumer by bullshit like this, since in reality we buy game from Valve, not from the game dev itself. 10:54 Wtf are you talking about? Game breaking bug is nothing to do with Valve. are you really reading that? omg 11:00 The "season pass" and "battle pass" terms is for the dev, so the game dev cant use this terms for fucking their player. Like what tarkov did, so no one can pull another tarkov moves on steam. 16:00 Basically the deve had 3 - 12 month to delay their promised DLC stuff, and at the same time Steam can do some refunds if some customers want it or if Steam sees this as a bogus in that grace period. 16:45 They couldn't do it, since it's on the steam TOS here 15:13. 16:49 Ok, I think you read all this thing wrong and didn't get it. You act like the stupid game dev that want to exploit their player. and valve clearly prevents that from happening to their customer with all this system in place. This system prevents everything that you thought btw about how the dev can fuck up their player base with bullshit. If you still didn't get it then ok.

[@billykotsos4642]

Hopefully Ubisoft will reinvent itself now that they have hit rock bottom. I am really lookingforward to them regaining their household name status

[@The8bitbeard]

That would be nice, but they're more likely to get bought up by a bigger company, further consolidating studios.

[@natetrucnlae6410]

Or have they

[@nepaliprayasgurung2594]

Or after the disastrous failure of Assassin's Creed Shadows before it's even out and even after it comes out it'll flop. Hopefully "Ubisoft" focuses on Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia franchise and give those ip revival and Ray man even we'd love to see. New Splinter Cell game or Prince of Persia the sands of time remake!

[@billykotsos4642]

I almost stubbornly refuse to accept the reality that gaming has become so mainstreaim and ublievably profitably that suits trying to squeeze every penny out of everyone will destroy everything in the process. I barely buy games anymore and the fun out of everything has been stripped away from me. Please give me an excellent Splinter Cell game, thats all I ask for, then I can die in peace.

[@ericoliver1603]

as long as Ubisoft is run by finance bros and not actual developers, it aint gonna change

[@scottcunni]

all this will do is push publishers like Ubi, EA and such to just not release on steam and just release on their own app. PC gamers will still play it even if it's not on steam, they have before and will do still.

[@NerdNest]

They tried that before, it didn't work out well for them.

[@jiggilowjow]

steam loyal till i die ... i wish we could make a petition to show the world everyone stand behind steam. and we want it to stay just like it is. i want lawyers and everyone to stop going after the worlds most beloved company...